


Actually, Things Couldn't Be Stranger

by SaiphTheSwordmaster



Category: DanPlan, Video Blogging RPF, actuallyoddplan
Genre: Author Is Sleep Deprived, F/M, Gavin is a good bro, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I like watching Stephen suffer, Inspired by Stranger Things (TV 2016), Ivsuh is Mileven, M/M, Stephen's Will but he's still an ass don't worry, Stosuh is always onesided in my fics, Stranger Things AU, Why Did I Write This?, change my mind, please don't let this flop
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:01:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26879374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaiphTheSwordmaster/pseuds/SaiphTheSwordmaster
Summary: STRANGER THINGS AU YALL!Hosuh: MikeWill: StephenDustin: DanielLucas: JayIvu: ElevenJoyce: BlankHopper: CranNancy: EliasSteve: JoJonathan: GavinBarb: NellyMax: AnnabelleErica: YannaAfter the disappearance of 12-year-old Stephen Byers and Nelly Holland, Hosuh Wheeler, Jay Sinclair, Daniel Henderson, and a girl with mysterious powers must uncover the truth of their disappearance. If people like the first chapter of this, I might write a second one.(Please don't let this flop. I spent three hours working on this, and I'm exhausted.)
Relationships: Annabelle | Melodify/Jay Ko, Daniel Lim/Seh, Elias Lim/Gavin Ng, Elias Lim/Joseph Catalanello, Ivu | Zerinchii/Hosuh Lee, Jay Ko & Hosuh Lee & Daniel Lim & Stephen Ng, Stephen Ng/Hosuh Lee (Onesided)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	Actually, Things Couldn't Be Stranger

**Author's Note:**

> Sleep is wack, yo.

Chapter One: The Vanishing Of Stephen Byers

“Come on,” A scientist ran through the hallway of a dark facility, trying his best to reach the elevator before the monster giving him chase managed to catch him. He had long, light blue hair tied into a ponytail and a large nose.

He ran as fast as he could, not used to the usually blinding white hallways being dark. His path was only lit by the emergency alarm. 

Just as he was about to lose his mind, he reached his ticket out of there. He exhaled a bit,  _ Thank God. I’m coming, Caroline.  _

He was going to see his friends and family again.

The elevator doors closed way too slowly for his liking. He pressed the button over and over again, trying in vain to get them to go faster.

Just as they closed, he realized that he should’ve seen the monster behind him when he closed the door.

A sick dread filled his stomach as he looked at the only place the thing could be.

On the ceiling.

“AHHHHHH!”

In a small town called Hawkins Indiana, four boys named Hosuh Wheeler, Stephen Byers, Jay Sinclair, and Daniel Henderson were playing a game of DnD. They had no idea of the horrors they were about to encounter.

Hosuh was the DM, “As you creep through the dark and damp cavern, you hear a strange noise, grrr,” He growled, leaning over the table.

“Oh no. Don’t be the Demogorgon, please don’t be the Demogorgon,” Dan prayed.

“We’re in deep shit if it’s the Demogorgon,” Jay said.

Stephen was silent, watching Hosuh as he animatedly told their fate.

He grinned before delivering the big reveal, “It’s the Demogorgon!”

“Shit! Shit! Shit!” Dan yelled, “Oh shit!”

Jay was freaking out as well, “Goddammit! The one thing-”  
Hosuh interrupted him, “Stephen! What is your action?”  
His eyes widened, “Me?! Why me?!” He demanded.

The other two were quickly all over him, “Cast protection! At least then it won’t kill the whole party,” Dan advised.

“No, cast fireball! Send its ass back to hell,” Jay shouted.

They began to argue over which was the best course of action.

“Uh, eenie meenie miney mo!” He said.

Everyone at the table glared at him, “Don’t you dare!”

“Stephen, what is your action?” Hosuh demanded.

“Shut up, Hosuh! I’m thinking!” He cried, panicking.

“There’s no time to think! The Demogorgon is getting closer,” He warned.

“Uhhhhh,” 

“Shields!”  
“Fireball!”  
“Stephen, your-”  
“Screw you Daniel, fireball!” He shouted, throwing the dice.

In his frantic decision, he threw the dice much harder than he needed to. They scattered all over the floor.

“Oh, shit!” Hosuh cried.

Everyone rushed to find the dice, “Where’d it go?” Jay said, “Where is it?”

“I don’t know!” Stephen snapped.

“Is it a 13?” Dan asked.

“I don’t know!” 

“Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God,” Dan paced back and forth as everyone searched for the dice.

“Hosuh!”

“Mom, we’re in the middle of a campaign,” Hosuh shot at her.

“You mean the end? Fifteen after,” She said, tapping on her wrist.

Everyone stared at him, “We can’t go yet!” Stephen said, still searching for the missing dice.

“I’ll try to convince her to let us have ten more minutes,” He quickly reassured him before chasing his mom up the basement stairs.

“Mom! Just ten more minutes,” He said, walking into the kitchen.

She shook her head, “School night, Hosuh. I just put Joey to bed. You can finish next weekend,”

“But that’ll ruin the whole thing!” He protested.

“Hosuh-”

“Seriously, Mom, that took two weeks to plan! How was I supposed to know it was gonna take ten hours?”  
She stared at him, “You’ve been down there for ten hours?!”  
That didn’t help his case. He decided to go to his father, “Dad, don’t you think that ten more-” 

“I think you should listen to your mother,” He said before going back to beating up the TV.

Stephen finally found the dice, “Does a seven count?” He asked anxiously.

“Did Hosuh see it?” Jay asked. Stephen shook his head.

“Then it doesn’t count!” He said.

The four of them gathered their stuff and got ready to go. Dan cleaned up the game and noticed the pizza box, “Guys! Does anyone want this?”

Stephen and Jay shook their heads, “No.”

They all ran upstairs.

“Yeah. No, I don’t think… He’s cute, but Nelly I don’t think-”

Dan walked to Elias’ room, “Yo, Eli! Do you want some pizza? Sausage and pepperoni!” He offered.

“Hang on a sec,” He said to Nelly, before walking over and slamming the door in his face.

He glared at the door, “Jerk,” He muttered.

“There’s something wrong with Elias,” He called in Hosuh’s direction as he stormed out of his house.

He was confused, “What are you talking about?” 

“He’s got a stick up his butt,” He said.

Jay rolled his eyes, “Yeah. It’s cause he’s been dating that asshole, Jo Harrington,”  
Dan nodded, “He’s turning into a real jerk,”

“He’s always been a bit of a jerk,” Hosuh pointed out, remembering their fierce cooking battle with a shudder.

Daniel shook his head, “He used to be cool. Remember the time he dressed up as an elf for our Elder Tree campaign?”  
“That was four years ago,” Hosuh reminded him.

He grinned, “Still! It happened,” Before hopping on his bike and pedaling away.

“Later,” Jay called before biking after him.

Stephen lagged behind, “The roll was a seven, by the way,”

Hosuh was confused, “Huh?”  
“The campaign. The Demogorgon killed me,” He said, letting it hang in the air for a few seconds, “See you tomorrow,” 

He biked after Dan and Jay, leaving Hosuh to wonder why he told him that instead of just rerolling the next time they played.

Hosuh’s front lights flickered, he frowned before turning them off and heading inside.

“Night ladies,” Jay waved as he turned onto his street.

Dan laughed, “Kiss your mom goodnight for me!” Before turning to Stephen, “There’s no way you can beat me back to my place!”  
He glared at him, “Wanna bet?”  
“Winner gets a comic!” He offered.

“Any comic?” Stephen asked, interested.

“Sure,”

He snorted and began pedaling faster.

“Hey! I didn’t say go!” Dan complained, “Get back here!”  
“Suck a dick, Daniel!” He yelled, solidly leaving him in the dust, “I’ll take your X-Men 134!”

He slowed to a stop, realizing that he would never win at this point, “Son of a bitch,”

Stephen continued biking, riding the high of winning against his friend. It wasn’t about the comic for him, it was more the satisfaction of having something to lord over the green-haired boy.

He was in such a good mood he almost didn’t notice his bike light flickering.

He frowned, tapping on it. It flicked back on. He looked ahead in the darkness, trying to figure out what was going on.

Boom!  
A loud noise startled him into a ditch. He fell off of his bike and scrambled to his feet, trying to find the source of the crash.

A dark silhouette made him jump, “AH SHIT! FUCK ME!” He screamed, turning around and sprinting through the woods.

He left his bike behind, too slow to drag with him, and tried to watch out for exposed roots that could slow him down.

Stephen ran into several trees, probably getting cut by the branches. 

Luckily for him, his house was in the middle of those woods. He burst through his front door, hoping to find his Mom or little brother.

“Mom? Gavin? Mom!?” He called. No answer.

That was weird. Even if Mom wasn’t home from work, Gavin should’ve been within shouting distance.

He heard Van Gough meowing in distress, and turned around to grab the cat. He knew whatever happened, Gavin would kill him if his cat got hurt.

He ignored the animal clawing at his arms and looked outside, trying to see the monster that had chased him out here.

The outside light barely illuminated the house, but he could see something moving at the edge of it.

He paled and dropped Van Gough. That shadow wasn’t human.

Stephen ran, “Come on, Stupid cat! Do you want to die?” He demanded.

Van Gough gave a disinterested meow and plopped down on the carpet. He gave the cat one last conflicted look before running away, _Sorry Gavin!_ _  
_ He tried the phone next, planning to call 911. His hands shook as he dialed the number, _Come on, come on, come on,_ He begged, tears filling his eyes.

“Hello? Hello?” He called, praying that someone, anyone would pick up.

The static didn’t sound right. It sounded more like screaming than any static should’ve. Van Gough hissed at something nearby, and Stephen knew he was screwed.

He didn’t think to let go of the phone, didn’t think to run, he just crept to the side to see what was at the door.

He was frozen in terror as a shadow crossed the window. The cat was on its haunches, ready to pounce at the monster because if Gavin taught him one thing it was, _ Protect Stephen. _

Then, to Stephen’s horror, the deadbolt began to unlock. 

He tried to grab onto Van Gough, but he wouldn’t budge. He tossed his head to the side in a gesture of, _Go!_ _  
_ Stephen didn’t need to be told twice. He turned to the side and ran, dropping the phone. With no other options, he ran to the shed, looking for the shotgun.

_ Come on, come on, come on. _ He thought as he picked up the weapon, trying to remember how to load it.

He grabbed a box of bullets and dumped some out,  _ Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck,  _ Was replaying over and over as his hands shook violently.

He struggled to load the shotgun and finally managed it, pointing at the door. The only sound was his heavy breathing filling the shack.

As soon as the monster came any closer he’d kill it. He became a little more confident,  _ What kind of monster could survive a bullet in the face? _

He was so focused on his pumping adrenaline and the goal of killing the thing before it killed him, that he didn’t notice the screeching at first.

It grew louder and louder, and soon he couldn’t ignore it. 

It was the same sound that he heard when he tried to call the police. He turned around to try to find the source, and his eyes widened when he found the lightbulb glowing brighter than it was capable.

He stared at it, breath quickening, before closing his eyes.

_ I’m sorry Hosuh! _

Pop!

The lightbulb went back to normal and illuminated the shack, showing that Stephen was no longer in it.

On that night, Stephen Byers vanished into thin air.

Officer Cran Hopper was sound asleep on his couch the next morning. He was shirtless and most likely passed out drunk.

A barking dog interrupted his slumber, he groaned and pressed a pillow over his face. Unfortunately for him and his headache, his watch started beeping moments after. 

He headed out to his deck, lighting a cigarette and taking a long drag as he stared out into the early morning air.

He then took a shower, dried off, put on some deodorant, brushed his teeth, and took a handful of pills with a swig of lukewarm beer. Yes, he was still smoking during this sequence. 

He got dressed in his uniform and headed out to work, ignoring the news’ warning of rain as he didn’t bring his umbrella.

Meanwhile, Blank was tearing apart the whole house to find her keys, “Where the hell are they?” She demanded, “Gavin, do you-”  
“Check the couch!” He called, making breakfast.

Of course, he was right, “There they are! Thanks, sweetie,”  
She walked into the kitchen, kissing Gavin on the forehead before heading towards the front door, “I will be home as soon as I can,”  
“See you later,” He said, loading eggs onto two plates.

Blank froze, “Where’s Stephen?”

“Oh, he’s probably still asleep. I didn’t get him up yet,” He said.

“Gavin! You have to make sure he’s up-”  
“Mom, I’m making breakfast,” 

“I told you this a thousand times. Stephen! Come on, honey. Time to get up!” Blank called, walking into his room.

She looked around, confused as to why she saw no one there.

Gavin buttered two pieces of toast and put them on their plates as Blank rushed in, “He came home last night, right?”  
He was concerned, “He’s not in his room?”  
“Did he come home or not?” She asked.

“I don’t know,”

“You don’t know?!”  
“No,”

“I got home late. I was working,” He said.

“You were working?!”  
“Maaz asked if I could cover. I said yeah,” He explained, “I thought we could use the extra cash.

“Gavin, we talked about this! You can’t take shifts when I’m working,” Blank exonerated.

“Mom, it’s not a big deal. He was at Hosuh’s all day, I’m sure he just slept over,”  
“I can’t believe you. I can not believe you sometimes,”

Blank walked over to the phone and called Hosuh’s Mom.

In the background, Elias wrinkled his nose at Hosuh putting syrup on his eggs, “That’s disgusting,”  
“It’s not!” He protested.

Hosuh’s mom picked up the phone, “Hello?”  
“Hey, Karen. It’s Blank,”

“Oh, Blank, hi!” 

Hosuh poured some syrup on Eli’s eggs, “What the hell, Hosuh?”

“Hey, language!” Their father reprimanded.

“Quiet!” Hosuh’s mom snapped.

“Was that Stephen I heard back there?” Blank asked, hoping she was right.

“Stephen? No, it’s just Hosuh,” She said.

She was confused, “Stephen didn’t spend the night?”  
“No. He left a little after eight. Why, did he come home last night?” She asked.

“Oh, uh, I think he just left a little early for school. Thanks, bye.” Blank said, hanging up.

She and Gavin exchanged an anxious glance. Stephen never left his bed earlier than either of them could drag him out of it. 

Meanwhile, Hosuh, Jay, and Dan were pulling up to school on their bikes.

Hosuh parked his bike and looked around for Stephen. They usually all rode together, “That’s weird. I don’t see him,”

“He probably just got here early,” Jay provided, “He’s been pretty paranoid about Gursky giving him another pop quiz,” 

Just then, the two jerks of Hawkins Middle school walked up to them.

“Step right up ladies and gentlemen! Step right up and get your tickets to the freakshow!” The darker haired one announced.

He stepped closer to them, “Who do you think would make more money in a freakshow? Condiment, Grandpa, or Toothless?” He said, going down the line and hitting each boy.

His companion frowned, “I’d gO WiTh tOotHlEsS,” He said, mimicking Dan’s lisp.

He glared at them, “I told you a million times, my teeth are coming in! It’s called cleidocranial dysplasia,”  
“I ToLd yOu a MiLiiOn tiMeS,” He mocked.

“Do the arm thing,” The darker haired one demanded. When Dan hesitated, he glared, “Do it, freak!”

He sighed and took off his jacket. He stretched his shoulders forward. The two gagged and chuckled.

“It gets me every time!” The dark-haired one exclaimed.

They pushed through the three boys, heading into the middle school.

Jay’s usually squinty red and yellow eyes were wide open with anger, “Assholes,”  
“I think it’s cool,” Hosuh offered Dan, “It’s like you have superpowers or something. Like… Mr. Fantastic,”  
“Yeah, except I can’t do anything cool with it,” He said.

The three of them headed into their school.

Elias walked into his high school as the bell rang. Nelly caught up to him, “So! Did he call?”   
His eyes widened, “Keep your voice down!” He snapped, embarrassed.

Nelly’s shit-eating grin remained, “Did he?”  
He rolled his eyes, “I told you. It’s not like that. I mean, yeah, he likes me, but not like that. We just… Made out a couple of times,” He said.

Nelly mimicked his dismissive demeanor. “We just… Made out a couple of times. Eli, seriously, you’re gonna be so cool now it’s ridiculous!”

“No. I’m not!” He protested.

“Hey, you’d better still hang out with me. We grew up together, man. I have enough dirt on you to drag your back to my level in the social caste,”

Elias raised an eyebrow at the idea of abandoning his best friend.

“Okay, okay. Just as long as you don’t make friends with James or Jaiden, we’re cool,”  
“Oh, come on, Nel,” He rolled his eyes, “That’s never gonna happen. Besides, it was just a one time-” He corrected himself at Nelly’s look, “Two-time thing,”

Just then, he found a note in his locker,  _ Meet Me. Bathroom. -Jo _

Nelly read over his shoulder, “You were saying?”  
He rolled his eyes at him, “Okay, fine, you had a point,”

The next thing he knew, he and Jo were making out in the bathroom.

“Jo,” He said breathlessly, “I have to go,”

The bell rang, proving his point.

Jo tried to continue kissing him, but he pulled away, “I mean it, Jo. I have to go to class,”  
“Hey, hey, hey! Uh, come on. Let’s do something tonight, okay?” He asked, hurrying to block his way out of the bedroom.

He shook his head, “I can’t. I have to study for Kaminski’s test,” He said, trying to get around him.

Jo blocked him once again, “Come on. What’s your GPA again? 3.9999…” 

“Kaminski’s tests are impossible,” He argued.

“Well, then let me help,” He said.

Eli laughed, “You failed chemistry,”  
“Hey! C-minus,” Jo corrected.

He rolled his eyes, “Well, in that case…” 

“So I’ll be over around 8:00?” He suggested.

He scoffed, “Are you crazy? My mom would never-”  
“I’ll climb through the window. She won’t even know. I’m stealthy, like a ninja,” 

He snorted, “You  _ are  _ crazy,” 

Jo kept blocking his way out, “Wait! Okay, forget about that. We can just… Chill in my car,” He offered, “We can find a nice quiet place and-”  
“Jo. I have to study,” He stated, “I’m not joking,”

“Why do you think I want it to be quiet?” He asked.

Elias couldn’t hold back a smile at that one, “You’re an idiot, Jo Harrington. Meet me at Dearborn and Maple at eight. To study, do I make myself clear?” He said, leaving the bathroom.

“Yeah, no, totally clear! I’ll be there,” Jo called after him, smiling to himself as he left.

At that moment, Officer Cran arrived at the police station, still smoking a cigarette.

“Good of you to finally show,”  
His speech was slightly slurred as he walked into the station, “Hey, morning, Jamie. Morning everybody,”

“Hey, Chief!” A brunette officer called.

“Damn, you look like hell, Chief,” The other remarked.

“Oh, yeah?” He asked sarcastically.

“Yeah,” He agreed.

“Well, I looked better than your wife when I left her this morning,” He said,

Everyone started laughing.

Jamie walked up to him, “When you were drinking or sleeping or doing whatever it is you do when you’re this late to work, Phil Larson called. He said some kids are stealing the gnomes out of his garden again,” They said.

“Oh, not the garden gnomes,” He said, “I’ll get on right on that,”

“And a more urgent matter, Blank Byers couldn’t find her son this morning,”  
Cran stole a donut and took a big bite of it, “Mm. I’ll get on that,”  
“Just give me a minute. Blank is very upset,” Jamie tried to warn him.

“Jamie, Jamie we’ve discussed this. Mornings are for coffee and contemplation,” He said.

“But, Cran, she’s already-”  
“Coffee and contemplation, Jam!” He interrupted.

They wanted to warn him but decided against it. If Cran didn’t want a heads up to the frantic mother in his office, they weren’t about to chase him down to give him one.

Sure enough, Cran walked into his office to find a very disheveled Blank.

He sighed and sat down at his desk. A missing report, so much for coffee and contemplation.

“I have been waiting for over an hour, Cran!” Blank shouted.

“You have my deepest apologies,” He drawled.

“I’m going out of my mind here!” 

“Look, a boy his age, he’s probably just playing hooky,” He said.

She shook her head, “Not Stephen. He’s not like that, he wouldn’t do that,”

He shrugged, “Well, you never know. My mom thought I was on the debate team, and I was just smoking weed in the back of my dad’s Oldsmobile, so…” 

“Look, he’s not like you, Cran. He’s not like me! He’s not like… most. He has a few friends, but, you know, the kids, they’re mean,” She said, “They make fun of him, call him names. They laugh at him, his clothes-”  
“His clothes?” Cran asked, “What’s wrong with his clothes?”   
“I don’t know! Does that matter?”  
“Maybe,” 

“Look. He might not look it, but he’s a sensitive kid,”  
“Stephen, sensitive?” Cran said.

“Yeah, sensitive! Todd… Todd used to say he was queer. Called him a fag _,_ ” She said.

Cran was disinterested, “Is he?”  
“He’s missing is what he is!” Blank snapped, taking a drag from a cigarette.

“Have you heard from Todd lately?” He asked.

Blank scoffed, “Last I hear he was in Indianapolis. That was about a year ago. But he has nothing to do with this!”   
“Why don’t you give me his number?” Cran asked, reaching for a pen.

“Cran, I’m telling you, he has nothing to do with this!”  
“Blank, 99 out of 100 times, a kid goes missing, the kid is with a parent or a relative,” He said.

“What about the other time?” She demanded.

“What?”  
“You said 99 out of 100. What about the other time, the one?” 

He sighed heavily, “Blank. Blank, this is Hawkins. Wanna know the worst thing that’s ever happened in the four years I’ve been working here? It was when an owl attacked Eleanor Gillespie’s head because it thought her hair was a nest,”   
She took a deep breath, “Okay, fine. I’ll call Todd. He’ll talk to me before he talks the police,”  
He nodded, “Go ahead,”  
Her gaze turned pleading, “I don’t care anymore, Cran! Just find my son, find him!” 

In the meantime, a bunch of scientists were gathering at the facility I mentioned at the beginning. 

“Dr. Brenner,” Two nameless scientists greeted. 

The two of them walked into the lab, talking briskly, “We’ve secured the entire area, following quarantine protocol,”  
They put on hazmat suits and took the elevator down to where the monster first escaped. 

“This is where it came from?” A man asked, pointing at the pulsing abscess on the wall.

“Yeah. And the girl?” Another asked.

Dr. Brenner gave a cold sneer, “She couldn’t have gone far,”

Meanwhile, a girl with shaved, bright white hair and a glowing halo was walking through the forest. She was barefoot and wearing a hospital gown, sure she was tired and hungry, but she was free.

She couldn’t believe her luck. In her aimless wandering through the forest, she managed to stumble upon a restaurant. 

She carefully snuck through the back of the building, searching for any kind of food. When she noticed the owner and sole cook of the place was distracted, she headed into the kitchen.

In the middle of a bunch of glittering silver machines, she found a basket of fries.

Relief filled her as she ravenously dug into the food. Before she could eat too many, though, the owner spotted her.

“Hey! Come here!”  
Without a moment of hesitation, she grabbed the fries and started to run. Unfortunately for her, she was tired, hungry, and a kid against a grown man.

He gripped her shoulders, shaking her slightly, “You think you can steal from me, boy?” He demanded.

The girl stared at him with mismatched doe eyes, and he softened when he noticed how scared she was, “What in the hell?”

In the meantime, Hosuh, Dan, and Jay were just getting out of science class.

“Remember, finish chapter 12!” Mr. Clarke reminded them, “And answer 12.3 on the difference between an experiment and other forms of scientific investigation. This will be on the test, which will cover chapters 10 through 12. It will be multiple choice with an essay section…” He trailed off as he noticed that the students weren’t listening.

Soon only the three boys were left. Hosuh was eager, “So, did it come?”  
Mr. Clarke sighed, “Sorry boys. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but… It came!”  
Their eyes lit up, “Really?!”  
He led them into the AV club room. 

“The Heathkit ham shack. Ain’t she a beaut?” Mr. Clarke beamed.

Jay grinned, eyes wide open, “I bet you can talk to New York on this thing!”

“Think bigger,”  
“California?” Dan asked.

“Bigger,”   
“Australia?!” Hosuh exclaimed.

Mr. Clarke smiled and nodded.

The three of them grinned, “Oh man!” Jay said, “When Stephen sees this, he’s gonna blow his shit!”  
“Jay!” He scolded.

“Sorry,”  
“Hello, this is Hosuh Wheeler. President of the Hawkins Middle AV Club,” Hosuh said in an Australian accent.

Dan stole his headphones and said in an even dorkier Australian accent, “Hello, this is Daniel, and this is the Secretary and Treasurer of the Hawkins Middle AV Club. Do you eat Kangaroos for breakfast?”

Jay rushed to get his turn on the radio, but their principal and Officer Cran knocked on the door before he could get halfway.

“Hate to interrupt, but can I have Hosuh, Jay, and Daniel for a second?” Their principal asked.

The three of them were talking at the same time.

“One at a time, alright. You,” He said, pointing at Hosuh.

“You said he takes what?”

“Mirkwood,” He repeated, “It’s a real road, just a made-up name. It’s where Cornwallis and Kerley meet,”

“Yeah, I think I know it,” He muttered.

“We can show you,” Hosuh offered.

“I said that I know it!”

“We can help look,” He insisted.

“Yeah!” Daniel agreed.

Cran shook his head, “No,”

All three began to argue at the same time.

“No. After school, you’re all going to go straight home. No biking around looking for your friend, no investigating, no-nonsense. This isn’t some Lord of the Rings book,”  
“The Hobbit,” Dan corrected.

Jay glared at him, “Shut up!”

The two started fighting with Hosuh in the middle, “Guys! Stop it,”  
The three of them started to fight.

“Do I make myself clear?” Cran asked, softly.

They immediately stopped bickering and looked up.

“Do I make myself… clear?” He repeated, more harshly.

They all nodded, “Yes sir,” 

While the boys were being interrogated, Blank was looking to see if Stephen was in Castle Byers. She thought back to when she first came to visit him.

_ “Ring a ding ding! Anybody home?” He pressed on the doorbell. _

_ “Password?” Stephen asked. _

_ She thought it over, “Radaga- Radagast?”  _

_“Close enough. Come in!”_ _  
__She moved the curtain blocking the entrance to the side and entered, “Thank you, sir,” She said as she sat down on the blanket serving as a carpet._

_ “So, guess what? I got off early and… Ta-da! Poltergeist,” She said, holding up two tickets. _

_ Stephen frowned, “I thought I wasn’t allowed to see it,”  _

_Blank shrugged, “I changed my mind. As long as you don't have nightmares for a week,”_ _  
__He glared at her, “Mom! I don’t get nightmares,”_

_ “Oh really? You’re not even scared of… Clowns?” She asked, jerking towards him in a menacing manner. _

_He jumped, “Mom! Don’t do that! It’s annoying!”_ _  
__She laughed, “I get you every time,”_ _  
__“No, you don’t- Mom! Mom-”_  
Blank ripped open the curtains closing Castle Byers. Nothing. She sighed deeply.

“Stephen!” Someone called in the distance.

Gavin was right outside, “STEPHEN!”  
“STEPHEN!” Blank yelled.

They were a part of a search party looking through the entire forest for the young boy. You’d think it would be easier to find a kid with bright purple hair.

While this was happening, the little girl was caught by the man. Who’s name she learned was Chris.

He made some food for the starving girl, cooking up a burger and some water from the back.

She dug into the food ravenously.

Chris chuckled, “Your parents forget to feed you?” His expression turned more serious, “That why you ran away?”

She looked up for a second before returning to her burger.

“They, uh, they hurt you?”  
She didn’t even seem to register that question, too lost in her food to pay much attention.

“You went to the hospital, got scared, ran away and wound up here, is that it?” He asked.

She looked up at him for a full two seconds that time before digging back into her meal.

He sighed, “Alright,” He said, taking away the food she was eating.

That got her attention. She looked up at the man, still hungry.

“I’ll give this back, okay? And you can have as much as you want. Alright? Maybe even some ice cream. But you have to answer some questions first, okay?”  
She slowly nodded.

“Alright. Let’s start with the easy stuff. What’s your name?” He asked.

She stayed silent.

He sighed and caught a glimpse of her arm,  _ I-V-U.  _ Was tattooed on her skin.

“I-V-U? What does that mean?” He asked.

The girl finally spoke, “No,” 

“She speaks,” He laughed, “No. No what?”  
She refused to talk.

He sighed, “Alright. No more food, then,” He said, getting up.

“Ivu!” She blurted.

He sat back down, “Yeah. What’s it mean?”

She pointed at herself, “Ivu,”

He nodded, “That’s your name? Alright then. Here’s your food,”  
Ivu gratefully dug back into her burger.

Chris chuckled, “Take it easy, there. You don’t want to make yourself sick,”

While she ate, he got up and called the police, “Look, all I know is that she’s scared to death. I think she’s been abused or kidnapped, or something,” He said, looking back out at the girl, “It’d be great if someone could come by. We’re at 4819 Randolph Lane. Yeah, Randolph,” 

As Ivu ate, a fan in the corner began to annoy her. It was broken and kept rattling. She stared at it, concentrating hard until it screeched to a stop.

She picked up another fry and ate it, wiping the blood from her nose.

Meanwhile, the police were searching for Stephen. They called his name as they walked along the road Hosuh and the others talked about.

Cran looked back and forth to find evidence. Just as he was about to give up, he caught a glimpse of silver in a ditch.

“Hey! I found something!” He called.

It was Stephen’s bike.

“That his bike?” The brunette cop asked.

He nodded, “Must’ve crashed,”  
“Think he got hurt in the fall?” The other cop mused.

“Not so hurt he couldn’t walk away, or he’d be here,” Cran pointed out, “But a bike like this is like a Cadillac to these kids. He would’ve walked it home,”

They looked around the piece of evidence, frowning. This was turning into a real mystery.

While that was happening, Blank was attempting to call Todd, “Who is this?”

“His girlfriend, Cynthia,”  
“Cynthia,” She said, trying to keep calm.   
“Who the hell is this?”

“Cynthia, this is Blank,”

“Who?”  
“Todd’s Ex-Wife,” She said, “I need to speak to him.

“Todd’s not here. Why don’t you call back later?”  
“No, NO! Not later, _now!_ Can-”

She hung up, cutting her off.

“Bitch!”  
“Mom!” Gavin said.

“What?”  
“You have to stay calm,”  
She gave a broken laugh, and left a message, “Todd, some teenager just hung up on me. Stephen is- is missing. I don’t know where he is, I need- I just need you to call me back, please, just-” The beep cut off her last sentence.

“Damn it! Damn it!” She screamed, slamming the phone back on the receiver.

“Mom?” Gavin said, seeing the police car pull up to their driveway.

“What?”

“Cops,”  
They ran outside, desperate for news. Both paled when Cran brought forward Stephen’s bike.

“It was just lying there?” Blank asked.

“Yeah,”  
“Did it have any blood on it or-”

“No, no, no, no, no, no,” He reassured her.

“If you found his bike out there, then why are you here? She asked.

“The kid had a key to the house, right?”  
“Yeah,” Gavin chimed in.

“So… Maybe he came home,” Cran suggested.

“You think I didn’t check my own house?” Blank demanded.

“I’m not saying that,”

Cran spotted a dent on a door, “Has this always been here?”

Blank tried to get a look at it, “What? I don’t know, probably. I mean, I have two boys. Look at this place,”

“You’re not sure?” He asked.

They all noticed the cat meowing outside.

Cran frowned, and went to check on him, “Hey, what’s up with this guy, huh?”  
Gavin rushed outside, “Oh, that’s my cat, Van Gough. He’s probably just hungry, I’ve got him,” He said, leading him inside.

Cran wasn’t certain of that. He spotted the shed, and an idea began to form. He walked inside the dimly lit shack and looked around. He spotted the pack of spilled bullets and frowned,  _ No one kept spilled bullets lying around their shed. Either this place has mice or something happened. _

Before he could investigate further, a sound interrupted him.

“Hello?” He called, looking around. 

Luckily for him, it was just the two other cops who came with him on the trip.

“I want to get a search party together, alright? All the volunteers we can get. Bring flashlights,” He said.

If Stephen was anywhere, he was probably in the woods. And if that were true, they had to find him as soon as possible.

While they were getting together a search party, Hosuh was getting more and more worried about his best friend.

“We should be out there right now. We should be helping look for him,” He insisted for the thousandth time.

His dad sighed, “We’ve been over this, Hosuh. The chief says-”

“I don’t care what the chief said!” He snapped.

“Hosuh!” His mom cried, more shocked than angry at his outburst. Their son never used that tone of voice with them.

“We have to do something. Stephen could be in danger!” He said.

“More reason to stay put. We don’t want to put ourselves in danger as well,” His mom pointed out.

“Mom!”

“End of discussion,”

He sighed and turned back to his dinner.

Elias swallowed, “So… Me and Nelly are gonna study at his house tonight,” He said, “That’s cool, right?”

Mom shook her head, “No, not cool,”

“What? Why not?” He demanded.

“Why do you think? Am I speaking Chinese in this house?” She asked, “Until we know Stephen is okay, no one leaves,” 

“This is such bullshit!” He snapped.

“Language,” Ted admonished.

“So we’re under house arrest?” Elias yelled, “Just because Hosuh’s friend got lost on the way home from-”

His head snapped up, “Wait, so this is Stephen’s fault?”

“Elias, take that back,” Mom said.

“No!”

Hosuh’s rare anger returned, “You’re just pissed off ‘cause you wanna hang out with Jo!” 

“Jo?” Ted asked.

“Who’s Jo?” Karen repeated.

“His new boyfriend,”

“You’re such a douchebag, Hosuh!” He snapped.

“Language,”

Elias looked around angrily for a minute before storming upstairs.

Mom called after him, “Eli, come back! Elias!”

She sighed and turned to Joey, who was fussing, “It’s okay. It’s okay, Joey. Here, have some juice, okay?”

“You see, Hosuh?” Ted asked, “You see what happens?”

He was confused, “You see what happens what?”  
He grew more agitated, “I’m the only one acting normal here!”  
He slammed his fists on the table, “I’m the only one who cares about Stephen!”  
“That is really unfair, son,” Ted said in his same monotone, “We care,”

Hosuh opened his mouth to answer back but decided to storm upstairs instead.

Karen sighed, while Ted looked around in confusion, “What did I say?”

The volunteers were out searching for Stephen, yelling his name, and hoping for a response.

Mr. Clarke approached Cran, “He’s a good student, you know.”

Cran frowned, “Huh?”

“Stephen. He might not want to admit it, but he’s very good at school. Smart at science, from what he said, he wants to be a teacher someday,”

Cran almost smiled, “I never got all of that stuff. My daughter, Alice, could tell you everything about it. All the stars, planets, all that shit,”  
Mr. Clarke smiled, “I hope to have her in one of my classes someday,”

Cran’s smile disappeared. He shook his head, “No. My wife and I got divorced. She lives out of state,”  
“Oh,”  
After Officer Cran walked away, a volunteer approached Mr. Clarke, “She’s dead, you know,”

He was confused, “Pardon?”

“The chief’s kid. She died,”

The volunteer walked away. Leaving Mr. Clarke to contemplate that information.

“Jay? Do you copy?” Hosuh was sitting in his basement and trying to get ahold of his friend, “It’s Hosuh,”

“Hey, it’s Jay,”  
“I know it’s you. And say over when you’re done talking so I know when you’re done. Over,”  
“I’m done. Over,” Jay said.

Hosuh sighed, “I’m worried about Stephen. Over,”

Jay cleared his throat, “Yeah. This is crazy. Over,”  
Hosuh finally got to the thing he was worried about, “I was thinking… Stephen could’ve cast protection last night, but he didn’t. He cast fireball. Over,”  
“Yeah, he did it to mess with Dan. Why? Over,”

“Well, the point is he could’ve played it safe, but he didn’t. He put himself in danger to help the party. Over,”

Jay thought it over for a second before nodding, “Meet me in ten. Over and out,”

They both flipped their walkie talkie antennas down and shoved them in their bags. Hosuh snuck out of the house and biked to Jay’s place.

Before he could get far, he ran into Jo, who was trying to climb in his brother’s window.

Hosuh considered yelling for his parents but quickly decided against it. Stephen was more important than Elias’s love life.

Jo knocked on his window. Elias rolled his eyes, so much for being like a ninja, “What are you doing here?” He demanded, opening the window, “I told you on the phone. I’m under house arrest,”

Jo shrugged, “I figured we’d just study here,”

He shook his head, “No. No way,”  
“Oh, come on. We can’t have you failing this test,” He said, climbing into his bedroom.

He wasn’t stealthy, not even remotely so.

He grinned, standing in the middle of Elias’ floor, “What’d I tell you? Ninja,”

Elias sighed and closed the window. Looks like Jo was here to say.

In the meantime, Ivu was busy attacking a tub of strawberry ice cream.

Chris smiled at her, “You like that ice cream, huh?”  
She smiled and nodded.

“Smile looks good on you,”

She frowned at him, clearly confused.

“Smile, you know,” He demonstrated.

Hesitantly, Ivu repeated the smile. 

She was about to go back to eating the ice cream when they heard a sharp rap on the door.

Chris headed towards the door, “Alright. You just sit tight,” He told the little girl, “Whoever it is, I’ll tell em to go away real quick, alright?”   


He went to answer the door, and Ivu looked after him. The knocking continued, “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” He said.

He opened the door to a blonde woman, “Hey, can I help you?”

“Hi. You must be Chris Hammond,” She said.

“I’m afraid I am. I’m afraid we’re closed for the evening too,” He said, turning to go back inside.

“Connie Frazier, social services,” She said, stopping him in his tracks.

“Ah, social services. My apologies. I didn’t expect you so soon,” He said, “That’s a heck of a drive.

“Not too bad this time of night,” She countered.

“Hey, listen, I… I haven’t told her that you’re coming yet. I didn’t want her running off again. She’s a tad skittish,” He said, pointing inside.

Ivu frowned, trying to hear the conversation outside.

“Children I work with usually are,” Blondie said, maintaining her icy smile.

He nodded, “Right, right,”

“So… Where is she?”   


“Right. She’s in the kitchen,” He said, leading her into his restaurant, “Sorry for trying to turn you away there,”

“It’s fine,”   


“You know, it’s funny, your voice sounded different on the-”

**Bang!**

Ivu watched in horror as the woman pulled out a handgun and shot Chris in the chest. There was no time to grieve. She leaped up and started running.

She ran through the back, shelves, and canned food passing her by. She tried to get out before the bad men found her, but she ran straight into two of them.

They pointed their guns at her, and she closed her eyes tight. As soon as she opened them, the men were crumpled on the floor.

She took that chance to escape while she still could, blinking tears from her eyes as she ran through the forest.

Meanwhile, Hosuh, Jay, and Daniel were biking down Mirkwood. They didn’t care that Cran told them not to look for their friend.

“Ah, man, this is it,” Jay said.

They parked by their bikes by the side of the road and stared into the dark woods. And, of course, it started to rain. Thunder rumbled overhead.

“Hey guys, you feel that?” Dan asked, “Maybe we should go back,” 

He was worried about Stephen, but not worried enough to search blindly in the woods during a storm.

Hosuh shook his head, “No. We’re not going back. Just stay close, okay? We don’t want to lose anyone in this light. Remember to stay on channel six. And  _ don’t  _ do anything stupid,”   


He and Jay forged ahead, leaving Daniel to curse their friendship before chasing after them, “Wait up!”

“Alright. Which polymers occur naturally?”Jo asked.

Elias thought for a minute before answering, “Starch and cellulose,”

“Mm. In a molecule of CH4 the hydrogen atoms are spatially oriented towards the centers of--”   


“Tetrahedrons!” He said.

“Wow. Jesus, how many of these did you make?” He asked.

“You said you wanted to help,” Elias reminded him.

Jo thought for a minute, “How about this? How about every time that you get something right, I have to take off an item of clothing. But every time you get something wrong-”   


“Uh, pass,” Elias said, laughing awkwardly.

“Oh, come on. Come on!”   


“No.”   


“Come on, it’ll be fun,” He said.

“No.”

“During fractional distillation, hydrocarbons are separated according to their--”

“Melting point,”   


Jo hissed, “Ooh, it’s boiling point,”   


Elias blinked, “That’s what I meant,”   


“Yeah, that’s not what you said,”

“No,”   


“No? Oh, do you need help, or…” Jo trailed off, moving in closer.

Elias rolled his eyes, “No,” But didn’t pull away.

Inevitably, the two started to kiss. Jo quickly pushed Elias down onto his bed as the kiss deepened.

Once he realized where this was going, he flushed, “Jo, Jo come on. Are you crazy? My parents are here,” He hissed.

Jo looked around, “That’s funny. I don’t see them,”   


Elias sat up, “Was that your plan all along? To get in my room and then…”   


“What? No! Eli-”   


He glared at him, “I’m not Laurie, or Anthony, or Becky,” He said, “I’m not a slut,”

“Hey, come on, Eli? I know you’re not a slut. That’s why I like you. You’re not like the other guys. You’re sweet and nice and funny. I like you for you, Elias,”

Elias glared at him, but you could tell he was fighting back a smile, “You’re an idiot, Jo,”

Jo grinned and picked up the teddy bear on his bed, “Bad Jo. Bad. Don’t do that to Mr. Eli,”

He laughed, “You’re such a dumbass,”

“You’re so beautiful,” He countered.

After a minute, they pulled away and went back to their studying.

During all this, Blank and Gavin were looking through some of his old photographs.

“Wow, Gavin, you took all of these?” Blank said, impressed, “They’re great,”  
“Yeah, they are,” He said, smiling proudly at his work.

Blank sighed, “I know I haven’t been there for you. I- I- I’ve been working so hard and I just feel bad that I don’t even- I barely know what’s going on with you. I’m so sorry about that,”

Tears were running down Gavin’s cheeks.

Blank frowned, “What’s wrong? What is it, honey, you can tell me,”

He sniffed, “It’s just- I should’ve been there for him,”

Blank shook her head, “No. Oh, no. You can’t do that to yourself. This was not your fault. Do you hear me? He’s- He is close. I know it. I- I feel it in my heart. You just have to- You have to trust me on this, okay? Oh! Look at this one,” She said, picking up a photograph of Stephen when he was in first grade. He was missing a front tooth and his eyes were shining with six-year-old mirth.

The two of them laughed. 

“That’s the best one, right?” Blank asked.

Gavin nodded, “Yeah,”

Just then, the phone rang. Blank sprang up from her chair and ran to answer it, “Hello?”  
There was nothing but static.

She frowned, “Hello? Todd? Cran?”

“Who is it?” Gavin called.

Muffled breathing joined the static. Blank slowly grew more frantic, “Who is this?!”  
Gavin walked over to his mom, concerned.

She suddenly turned as pale as a ghost, “Stephen?”

His eyes widened, “Steve? Is that Stephen?”

She nodded, “It’s him! It has to be!”

The sounds grew more and more distorted. Blank began to sob, “WHO IS THIS? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY BOY!” She screamed.

Gavin gasped, “What? What’s going on?”

Blank’s screaming grew incoherent as the static and breathing grew louder and louder. Gavin was confused and upset, and Blank was beside herself.

Before they could do or say anything else, a loud crack sounded through the kitchen, “AH!” Blank screamed as she dropped the charbroiled phone.

In the meantime, Hosuh, Jay, and Daniel were still searching for Stephen.

“Stephen!” Hosuh called, “Where are you?”

“Come on, Psychopath!” Jay pleaded, “You can’t leave us alone like this,”

“I’ll give you whatever comic you want!” Dan offered, “I don’t care about my X-Men 134,”   


A tree rustled next to them, and Hosuh’s heart leaped, “Stephen?!”

Instead of Stephen, they were met face to face with a silver-haired girl with a halo.

She and Hosuh locked eyes. Oh boy.

This was about to get interesting.


End file.
